


in the eye of the beholder

by ForxGood



Category: Galavant (TV), Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: F/F, High School AU, Madalena is an aromantic bisexual queen, Mentions of Madalena cheating on Galavant, Mentions of the other horsepeople, Porn with Feelings, War is a useless lesbian stereotype
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22091335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForxGood/pseuds/ForxGood
Summary: It's their senior year of high school, and Madalena won't stop complaining to War about how bad her flings are in bed. When it comes to light that none of them have ever gone down on her, Madalena asks her resident lesbian bestie to show her how it's done. War, who is the stereotype lesbian-with-a-hopeless-crush-on-her-best-friend, is happy to comply. Things escalate, and feelings come to light.Chapter 1 is just porn with feelings, chapters 2-3 are rated T and actually contain some plot. (I know, I was shocked too)
Relationships: Madalena (Galavant)/War (Good Omens)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a scene from a long, elaborate, 'childhood best friends to lovers' AU that wouldn't leave me alone. If this were part of the full thing, they would have ended up properly together by the end of this. As it is, this is just porn-with-feelings and no real plot.  
UPDATE: I actually continued this and now they do end up together by the end.

“It’s all the same, you know?”

Madalena was lounging on her bed, her back resting against the extravagant collection of pillows resting against her headboard, as War sat at the foot of her bed, painting her nails.

“I mean, I literally wouldn’t know; I don’t sleep with guys.” War grinned, and Madalena resisted the urge to throw a pillow at her best friend’s head.

“I mean there’s no variety. They all do basically the same thing. And they don’t even _ last _ very long.” She groaned, looking up at the ceiling before looking back at War. “The amount of times I’ve had to finish the job myself… It’s ridiculous! You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with guys like that.”

“Yeah… Boys don’t know what they’re doing.” War replied, trying to remove the thought of Madalena getting herself off from her mind. Madalena was her _ friend _ , for crying out loud. She _ really _ shouldn’t be thinking about her like that.

She cleared her throat, hoping her voice wasn’t giving away any indication of her hopeless crush on the brunette. “I mean, they barely know how to fuck, let alone go down on someone.”

Madalena sat up a little straighter at that, looking at War curiously. “That isn’t just a lesbian thing?”

“Umm… No?” War put aside the nail polish, looking at Madalena with something that could almost be mistaken for pity. “They’ve never gone down on you?”

“Nope.” Madalena shook her head. “Not one of them.”

“But you’ve gone down on them?”

“Sure.” Madalena shrugged. “It’s not so bad.”

“But they’ve never returned the favour.” War asked again, letting out a low whistle when Madalena shook her head.

“Nope. I think maybe Gal offered once, but he’s been growing that gross beard, so…”

“Jesus.” War shook her head. “You’re missing out. I mean, I doubt they’d be very good at it anyways, but still…”

Madalena was sitting up even straighter now, leaning towards War a little. “What about you?” She asked, and War had to gulp when she realized how close Madalena currently was.

“What about me what? Has someone gone down on me?”

“I mean… Are _ you _ good at it?”

And there it was. That sweet, almost-innocent tone that War could barely say no to. Her mind was barely processing what Madalena was asking of her, but already she knew the brunette would get what she wanted. She always did, especially around War.

“You… You could find out.” Her voice was trembling a little as she too leaned forward, and she was sure Madalena could tell how nervous she was. 

Not that the brunette seemed to mind. She was smiling, grinning even, and looking kind of excited at the prospect of it all.

“This won’t make things weird between us, will it?” War asked, even as her gaze shifted from Madalena’s eyes to her lips.

“Of course it won’t.” Madalena reassured her, taking War’s hand and squeezing it gently. “It’s just sex. And I’m already cheating on Gal; what’s one more person?”

War had to admit that that was an excellent point, but there was still a knot in her stomach. Because what if this _ did _ make things weird between them? What if Madalena realized War had feelings for her and decided she wouldn’t be her friend anymore?

But then Madalena batted her eyelashes at War, and asked her “_ please _” in that tone of voice War couldn’t say no to, and the last of her resistance ebbed away.

Instead, she crawled over to Madalena, placing one hand on her cheek as she gently kissed her, Madalena relaxing back into her mountain of pillows. They kissed for a few minutes, before Madalena pulled away, looking at War with some confusion.

“I thought you were going to go down on me?”

War laughed at that, tucking a strand of hair behind Madalena’s ear as she stared at the pouty face of her lover. “Patience, Maddie. If you want something quick and dirty, you can call up one of your boy toys.”

Madalena huffed, and War pretended the mention of Madalena’s many flings didn’t sting just a little. Instead, she leaned back in for another kiss, but Madalena stopped her again.

“Do you want me dressed for this, or…”

War shook her head. “Whatever makes you more comfortable. I mean, these,” She reached under the skirt of Madalena’s dress and snapped the waistband of her panties, “have eventually got to come off, but the rest is up to you.”

“Okay, cool.” Madalena smiled, before pulling her dress over her head and tossing it across the room. War, who had not expected this move, felt her mouth go dry at the sight before her.

Sure, she’d seen Madalena’s body before. They’d had countless sleepovers, and she’d seen her friend in a bathing suit plenty of times. But this was something different altogether. Because this had been _ Madalena’s _ idea. And while War had fantasized about this a few times - something she felt somewhat guilty about, but then again, she couldn’t _ really _ help it - it was nothing like the real thing.

She gulped, and Madalena smirked, seemingly quite pleased at the effect she was having on War. She knew she was good looking, but having it confirmed by War felt extra special somehow.

“Are you just going to stare at me or are you actually going to do something?”

That seemed to snap War out of her trance, and she laughed awkwardly, running a hand through her hair to compose herself just a little before she leaned down again. She felt her own heart racing in her chest, and part of her was sure that in a way, this was the worst idea she’d ever had. There was no way her crush on her friend would lessen after this. If anything, it was about to become worse.

But by the gods, if Madalena wasn’t a vision below her. And War was fairly positive none of Madalena’s exes had ever really made her feel as good as she deserved. And crush or not, she was determined to show off just how good the brunette could have it.

Breaking their kiss, War’s lips moved to the corner of Madalena’s mouth, and then to her jaw, her neck, delighting in the gasp she drew out when her lips grazed over Madalena’s pulse point. She lingered there for a minute, unable to resist the urge to leave a little bite-mark which she quickly soothed with her tongue. Madalena, for her part, seemed content to let War do her thing, and if she’d had the time, War would have marveled at how relaxed Madalena was under her touch. She trusted her, fully and completely, and she might have wondered if she’d given any of her other lovers the same treatment.

But those were thoughts to be examined on a later date. Now, War’s lips continued their way down, the redhead smiling against pale skin when she heard a very contented sigh above her.

“Enjoying yourself?” She asked, and Madalena lifted her head up to look at her, a content smile on her face.

“Yeah. It’s nice. They don’t usually take their time like you do.”

“That’s because guys tend to think only about their own pleasure.” War grinned, moving her hand to cup Madalena’s breast, thumb brushing over her nipple through the thin fabric of her bra.

“And you?” Madalena gasped softly, giving War an amused but warning look when she saw the self-satisfied expression on her friend’s face.

“I find pleasure in making my partners feel good.” War grinned, stealing a quick kiss from Madalena’s lips before moving down again, kissing between her breasts and down her toned stomach.

“You’re such a submissive.” Madalena laughed, her laugh devolving into a moan as War bit down.

“Watch it, Maddie.” She grinned, but didn’t move to correct her, instead shuffling to move further down the bed to make herself more comfortable between Madalena’s legs.

She let her hands run over Madalena’s legs, lips moving to kiss her way up her inner thigh, and moving to her other leg just before she reached the place where Madalena wanted her most. She could tell Madalena was already wet, and War wondered if maybe Madalena was less straight than she had let on.

(Then again, Madalena had just invited her to fuck her, and she wasn’t doing anything to stop this from happening, so maybe that should have been a clue in and of itself).

Hooking her fingers in the waistband of her underwear, War gently pulled them down Madalena’s long legs, the brunette moving her hips to help her a little. Her breathing had become just a tad more irregular, and War assumed she was getting a little tired of being teased. Still, she appeared to make no moves to stop her, so War let her hands ghost over the inside of Madalena’s thighs, pushing her legs a little further apart as she left a trail of kisses in her wake.

“_ Red _.” Madalena whined, and War had to laugh at how needy her friend sounded.

“Patience, Maddie, I told you.” She grinned against her skin, leaving a bite mark on her inner thigh as her thumb brushed across her clit, making Madalena moan a little.

In truth, part of the reason she was drawing this out so much was fear. She wasn’t sure if fully going through with it wouldn’t fundamentally change something between her and Madalena. Maybe Madalena would think the whole process disgusting. Maybe she’d hate her. Maybe she’d never want to talk to her again.

But at this point, War was in too deep to stop. And it didn’t seem like Madalena was going to stop her either. So slowly, tentatively, War placed her tongue against Madalena’s clit.

The response was almost instantaneous, a drawn-out moan falling from Madalena’s lips as her fists gripped the duvet she was lying on. Spurred on by this reaction, War placed her hands on Madalena’s thighs, thumbs moving in small circles as she moved her tongue against her clit. She reveled in the noises sounding from above her, and dared herself to look up while she licked, amazed to see what Madalena looked like in the throes of pleasure.

She didn’t miss how Madalena was fisting her sheets, and War pulled away for a second, Madalena shooting up almost immediately to ask why she stopped.

“Just… Your hands. You can put them in my hair. If you want, I mean.” War smiled kind of nervously, and Madalena eyed her with curiosity.

“You’re sure that won’t hurt you?” She asked, one hand already moving down to stroke War’s red hair.

“Nah. I kinda like it, actually.” War admitted, which made Madalena grin at her. That grin became even more smug when she let her nails scrape over War’s scalp, which made War shudder with pleasure.

“So submissive.” She grinned, and War decided to let that slide, kind of eager to get back to the task at hand.

She learned very quickly that Madalena had a habit of tugging at her hair when she did something that felt especially right, and War took those cues and ran with them. The first time one of those especially sharp tugs made War moan, she was rewarded with a delicious-sounding gasp from Madalena, and additional hair-pulling, which only made War delight in her task more. With the noises sounding around her, and the taste of Madalena on her lips, War decided she would happily die between these legs, if Madalena would allow her such a thing.

Madalena’s first orgasm didn’t come as a surprise. War had felt her legs shaking for a while now, and the hair-tugging was becoming more frequent, as were Madalena’s irregular breathing and high-pitched moans. On occasions, War could swear she head Madalena moan her name, but she’d put those down to wishful thinking and her imagination. After all, she’d fantasized about this quite a few times - who was to say this wasn’t all just another wet dream.

As Madalena came, War didn’t pull away, instead pressing her tongue against her clit and moving it in slow circles to let Madalena come down from her high. What neither of them expected was for that stimulation to be enough to send Madalena over the edge again, the brunette yelping a little and clasping her free hand over her mouth, visibly embarrassed by what had just occurred.

War just grinned a little, stroking Madalena’s legs to help her come down, before resting her chin on her stomach, lips still glistening.

“So… Would you say I’m good at this?” War grinned, delighting a little in how embarrassed Madalena still seemed to look.

“I am _ so _ sorry, I never… That never…”

“What?” War crawled up Madalena’s body, her face hovering inches above hers. “Never came twice before?”

Madalena shook her head, and War laughed loudly. “Well, I can’t say I’ve never made a woman come more than once before… More than twice, even… But never this quickly.”

Madalena rolled her eyes at that, but did seem a little more relaxed by War’s words. The redhead just smiled, ruffling Madalena’s hair before sitting up a little.

“I’m going to get some mouthwash. I’ll be back.”

“Wait.”

Madalena grabbed War’s shirt, pulling her into another kiss, taking War completely by surprise. She responded mostly out of instinct, looking kind of dumbfounded when Madalena pulled away, licking her lips thoughtfully, before grinning.

“Okay. Now you can go.” She said, War nodding dumbly in response before getting off the bed and walking towards the bathroom. As she entered the bathroom, she locked the door and leaned against it, taking a few minutes for herself to consider what the hell had just happened.

She’d had sex with Madalena. She’d had sex with her _ best friend _ . And from the looks of it, she had enjoyed it. Which meant this may happen again. What’s worse; she _ wanted _ it to happen again. And even if it didn’t, War knew the noises Madalena had made, and the way she tasted, and the way she moved under her touch, would be burned into her mind for years to come.

Sinking down to the floor, War buried her head in her hands and groaned. Oh yeah; she was _ fucked _. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We flash-back on Madalena coming out as aromantic. War laments her current situation and hopeless, unrequited crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This world wouldn't quite leave me alone just yet, and the comment of support somehow kickstarted a burst of inspiration, and this happened. I've got one more chapter set in this world after this one, but I have no clue if or when that one will be written. My muse is a fickle one.

The thing with Madalena is that she can be _ very _ persuasive when she wants to be. And most of the time, she very clearly wants to be.

War had promised herself that this would be a one time thing. She’d sleep with Madalena once, as a favour to her best friend, and then never again because she couldn’t risk things getting weird between them. And she was very sure that, the moment Madalena found out about War’s hopeless crush on her, things _ would _ get weird between them.

But here’s the thing about such promises. If you’re smitten enough, they don’t stand a chance against pretty green eyes and soft lips against your skin.

The second time it happens, War still promises that this will be the last. Just once more for the road. She lets Madalena push her against the door of her bedroom, her lips on her and her leg between her thighs as Madalena kisses her. Because “It felt so good last time”, because “They don’t touch me like you do”, because “I need you”. And when had she ever not been there when her best friend needed her?

The third time it happens, Madalena actually returns the favour, telling War how badly she wants to touch her as Madalena pushes her into the mattress. They’re back in Madalena’s bed this time, and War tells herself that it’s only fair to let Madalena return the favour this once. A little quid-pro-quo. And then, after this, it would be done, and they’d go back to being friends.

But it didn’t stick to three times. Or even four times, five times, or ten times. It kept happening, Madalena pushing War against the nearest surface, lips against her skin and sweet whispers in her ear, and War being utterly helpless to stop it. She couldn’t deny Madalena; not when she knew she could make Madalena beg for her. Not when she knew Madalena could make her scream. Not when she knew Madalena kept seeking _ her _ out, instead of her many boy toys.

So they fell into a new routine. Madalena still dated Galavant, she still spoke to War about her relationship troubles, and still painted War’s nails a bright red while they complained about high school. In a way, it was almost exactly like their old routine, except with more sex. 

And the fact that they were keeping this information from all of their other friends.

Sure, War was tempted to talk about it with someone. She wanted to tell Famine, or maybe even Pestilence or Death. They’d gone off to college already, and were generally older and wiser and more well-versed in this sort of thing. It had been them she’d ran to once she first had her suspicions about not being entirely straight. But she also knew that they, and especially Pestilence, would encourage her to do the one thing she absolutely couldn’t risk.

You see, Pestilence had read one too many fanfiction on the internet, and now saw romance tropes wherever they went. War had often joked about this with Famine, Pollution, and Madalena, because for someone who saw romance tropes everywhere, they were adorably oblivious to the affections Death harboured for them. But that was not the point right now. What _ was _ the point is that War was positive Pestilence would encourage her to ask Madalena out. She could hear their voice already:

“But if she keeps seeking _ you _ out, don’t you think that means something? Don’t you think that means she loves you?”

_ No _. War knew that it did not, in fact, mean that. And she didn’t know that in Pestilence’s tropey ‘oh, she could never like me, I’m beneath her’ kind of way. She had actual proof that Madalena could never love her.

And it was the fact that Madalena had told her, flat out, that she could never love _ anyone _.

********

It had happened last year, a few weeks before summer break. War had been dating a redhead named Roberta - Bobbie to friends - for a month or so now, and Madalena was in her first stages of getting bored with Galavant for a 5th time. They were sitting outside in the summer sun, War working on one of her sketches when Madalena broke the comfortable silence between them.

“How did you know you liked Bobbie?”

War paused, putting her pencil down and looking over at Madalena, who was eyeing her curiously. It wasn’t the first time Madalena had asked her questions about her sexuality, but this seemed different somehow. She could tell that there was something to that question, a hidden meaning, that her best friend hadn’t quite dared to speak about.

“I don’t know. She’s pretty. She makes me smile. She’s kind of cool… The fact that she’s not a bad kisser doesn’t hurt.”

Madalena laughed at that, but still didn’t seem fully satisfied with that answer. War placed her notebook beside her on the grass, and turned to face Madalena more fully. “Why’d you ask?”

Madalena merely shrugged, not replying for about a minute or so, before she spoke again.

“Do you love her?”

War’s eyes widened at that question. _ Did _ she love Bobbie? Signs pointed to no, especially considering War didn’t really know the fellow redhead all that well yet, but she had a sneaking suspicion Madalena had an ulterior motive for asking her this. Madalena, for her part, seemed to sense War was getting suspicious of her line of questioning, and shifted gears just a little.

“I mean, how could you even tell? If you’re in love? What does it… Feel like?”

_ Ah _ . That old song. It had been a point of discussion for all horsepeople back when they were younger, when Death and Pestilence had just started high school and the rest had been about to. _ How do you know when you’re in love _?

Pestilence had always had the more romantic answers. Answers which were simultaneously the most unhelpful. Because how can you “just know”? Wasn’t the entire point of the question that you _ didn’t _ just know?

War sat cross-legged in front of Madalena, who was still looking at her for an answer.

“It’s… Strange. It’s not what I feel for Bobbie, that’s for sure.”

“But you’ve been in love.” It was more statement than question, and Madalena leaned forward just a little, as if urging War to continue. “Tell me about it? Please?”

War sighed, but nodded. The moment Madalena broke out the word ‘please’, War knew there was very little she wouldn’t do for her best friend. It was, unfortunately, one of the many downsides of being as smitten for her as she was.

“I thought you didn’t like feelings?” She laughed, one last-ditch attempt to not have to answer the question, lest Madalena catch on to her truest desires. But Madalena didn’t seem swayed, instead also moving to sit cross-legged in front of War.

“Humor me. Just this once.”

“Fine.” War sighed, running a hand through her hair as she tried to think of the best way to phrase her emotions. “It feels… Warm. Like an emotional warmth, as if being around them is like a warm, comforting blanket being thrown around you. Anything they do makes you smile, even if it’s stupid or ridiculous or something that you would not have found funny otherwise. But when they do it, it’s somehow adorable. Even when they mess up or do something stupid, you just find it endearing. Because you see them as this amazing, wonderful, flawless person... And then when they make mistakes that humanizes them, and it makes you admire them even more.”

She was no longer looking at Madalena now, though her friend made no move to stop her as the words came spilling from War’s lips, floodgates now opened.

“You can’t stop thinking about them. Or at least, you think about them every day. You see things all the time that remind you of them, and then you smile because you’re thinking of them again. You wanna see her smile, all the time. More than anything, you wanna see her be happy, even if maybe that isn’t with you. And it hurts, because part of you believes the people she’s with don’t treat her the way she deserves, but you can’t be an asshole about it because it was _ her _ choice, and if she’s happy then that’s what matters. Because even if she’s not with you, seeing her happy makes you happy.”

She realized that somewhere along the line, she’d moved on from referring to a general being to referring to a specific ‘she’, but she didn’t think Madalena had noticed. Or at least, she hoped she hadn’t noticed.

When she looked back up at her friend, Madalena appeared to be almost… Petulant. She was pouting, clearly thinking about something, and War couldn’t quite put her finger on what was bothering her friend. It was almost as if she was searching for something; a memory, maybe? A feeling? Something she knew was there but just couldn’t quite reach.

War cleared her throat, and Madalena seemed to snap from her revery, going back to smiling at War again.

“Does that answer your question?” War spoke hesitantly, and Madalena nodded slowly.

“Kind of…” Madalena sighed, chewing on her bottom lip for a minute before speaking again. “Do you think anyone feels about me that way?”

War just laughed in response. “Maddie, Gary worships the ground you walk on. As he should.” _ As do I _, but those last words went unspoken. Madalena didn’t seem fully satisfied by that answer though, instead sighing again, looking somewhat disappointed. War reached over, covering Madalena’s hands with her own.

“Hey… What’s wrong?”

“What if… I don’t feel that way about him?”

War stared at the brunette in confusion, Madalena looking up at her with an expression War had rarely seen on her face. _ Hesitance _. Madalena was rarely ever unsure about something, so whatever this was must be serious. And War had a suspicion it ran deeper than just Gary Galavant.

“Then you dump him.” She spoke bluntly, her thumb rubbing the back of Madalena’s hand. Despite her crass answer, she knew there was more Madalena wanted to say.

“What if I don’t feel that way about anybody? What if I never can?”

War nodded slowly, finally catching on to what Madalena was getting at. She supposed it made sense, in a way. There had been signs; much like there had been signs with War back in the day.

Madalena always hated romance movies. She never really understood moments in shows where someone risked a good position for ‘love’, always opting to mock those decisions instead. She had often complained about fantasy stories where a queen or a princess gave up her palace life “to get fat and pregnant and grow her own food”, mockery War had always been happy to join in on. And more importantly; it explained why she always got bored of Gary, or any of her other flings, so easily.

It wasn’t that she was fully heartless (though War could also make a case for that, which she knew her friend would take nothing but pride in); she also happened to be genuinely incapable of loving someone. Anyone.

_ Including you _, her mind helpfully provided, but War pushed that thought away, instead focusing on Madalena again.

“Then you just do what makes you happy.” She replied, Madalena giving her a watery smile in return. “It’s not like you ever cared about his feelings before…”

“True.” Madalena acknowledged, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “But still… Is it weird? That I don’t like _ anybody _ ? I’m supposed to like boys, which I do, I just don’t like their _ emotions _.”

“Hey, I don’t like boys' emotions either.” War grinned, and Madalena smacked her friend’s arm at the bad lesbian joke. “But seriously, who cares? At the end of the day, you gotta do what makes you happy. And if that means sleeping with men and breaking their heart because they can never have you; go for it.”

Madalena laughed at that, holding War’s hand more properly and linking their fingers together. “And it doesn’t bother you? That I don’t like people?”

“People are terrible. I wish I could stop liking them.” The redhead snorted, and Madalena smiled, moving to lay her head in War’s lap as she often did.

“Thanks, Red.” She hummed, and War just smiled at her, their hands still linked as she pondered on how to deal with the dull pain in her heart.

********

So yes. Madalena was aromantic, at least as far as either of them were aware. Which meant that there was absolutely nothing War could do to make her love her. There were no declarations of love in her future, no grand gestures, no sudden realizations. Just the cold, hard truth that Madalena would never love anyone.

At least she knew she could take some solace in the fact that this meant Gary would never have her heart either. Not that it made her own situation any easier, but she took some serious delight in knowing that at least Madalena had been upfront with her about what this was. That for all her faults, her friend had never made War any promises she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep.

But again; that didn’t solve War’s problem. She kept falling into bed with Madalena, over and over and over again. Not even Galavant finally breaking it off with Madalena could make her feel better. 

(They were breaking it off “For good this time”, if Gary was to be believed, but War had her doubts. Galavant and Madalena had broken up and gotten back together so often now, it almost seemed meaningless. Nevertheless, she always fulfilled her role of being a good shoulder to cry on as Madalena raged about how Galavant was making the biggest mistake of his life).

Much to her surprise, though, Madalena didn’t seem as fazed by this break-up as she was by most of the former. She merely shrugged it off, patting War’s head when the redhead offered to fight Gary. She actually deleted his number off her phone, telling War she didn’t care before she pulled her into her bed again.

Things seemed to take a turn after that, with Madalena for once not opting to find herself a new fling to get through the rest of the school year. Instead, she sought out War more often, to the point where Pollution once asked them if Madalena and War had begun dating and had just forgotten to tell them.

War waved that off, assuming Madalena only went for her knowing War was easy. Because much to War’s dismay, Madalena was _ very _ aware of War’s attraction to her, at least on a physical level.

********

“You never told me who you loved.”

It was summer, and the two girls were lounging on pool chairs as the rest of their friends were having another pool duel. War turned to face Madalena, whose facial expression was blocked by a pair of comically large sunglasses.

“You never asked.” The redhead replied, and Madalena snorted.

“I didn’t think I’d have to. We tell each other everything.”

“Well, I can’t tell you this.” War replied, looking away and missing how Madalena sat up, dropping her sunglasses to study War.

“Why not?” She asked indignantly.

War opted not to reply, grinning a little as she heard a frustrated groan from Madalena. She knew her friend was undoubtedly pouting right now. The brunette wasn’t used to not getting her way.

To her credit though, Madalena didn’t push, instead laying back down with a huff.

“Fine. But you at _ least _ have to tell me who your lesbian awakening was. You owe me that much.”

“Why would I tell you that?”

It was War’s turn to sit up, turning to look at Madalena who was grinning in a way that could only promise trouble.

“Because if you don’t, then I’ll be sure that everyone at the next truth or dare game will ask you, and I don’t think you want the entire school to know.” She spoke sweetly, and War groaned.

“Devil woman. Why am I friends with you?”

“Because I’m the best friend you’ll ever get. Now spill; who was it? Was it Isabella? Tell me it wasn’t Isabella. We can’t be friends anymore if it was Isabella.”

War lay back down, mumbling something unintelligible as she tried to convince herself that the redness of her face was just sunburn.

“I didn’t quite get that.”

She could _ hear _ the smirk in Madalena’s voice, and sighed, realizing that there really was no way she’d get out of this. At least not with her ego intact.

“It was you.” She grumbled, not looking over at her friend as she spoke. “Spin the bottle, freshman year. You kissed me. It was… Nice.”

It was quiet between them for a few moments, the only noise being the commotion of Famine, Pollution, Death, and Pestilence fighting it out in the pool. Then, Madalena let out a low whistle, and War looked over to see her friend looking _ way _ too smug.

“Damn. I am good.” Madalena grinned, before putting her sunglasses back on and laying back down. 

********

And that, somehow, had been the end of that. Sure, Madalena had mocked her a few times, one prominent time simply bragging that “Of course she’s going to pick me” when War was dared to kiss the prettiest person in the room. But it had always been more about Madalena’s ego, and less about a malicious way to make War feel bad for having (had) a crush on her best friend.

She wasn’t sure if Madalena still believed War liked her. They had stated, plenty of times, that this ‘thing’ between them was just casual. And while War had never purposely given her a reason to believe otherwise, she wasn’t sure how subtle she was being with her affections around Madalena.

The excuse “gals being pals” only went so far.

If she had any sense of self preservation, she’d stop. Right now, every second spent in Madalena’s presence only served to make War fall harder for a woman who, through no fault of her own, would never be able to return her affections.

(She’d often joked she was a stereotype lesbian falling for a straight girl. Instead, she was just a sucker who’d fallen for an aromantic beauty).

But this was the thing about War: She had no sense of self-preservation. She had always been impulsive, and reckless, and chased the thrills despite the knowledge that she could get seriously hurt. And Madalena was the biggest thrill of all.

In hindsight, she never even stood a chance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madalena organizes a get-together for the horsepeople. Feelings come to light. Famine hates his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is the final scene I've got in this particular universe. I still stand by Madalena being aromantic, but I also stand by that she'd feel a connection to War that may not be love in the conventional way, but would be her loving someone "as much as someone like her can love anyone". As per usual, comments fuel my ego, and you can find me at @ForxGood on twitter if you want more War x Madalena content.

“I think we should have a party.”

Pollution was the first to look up after those words were spoken, excitement glittering in their eyes. They loved a good party, mainly because they relished in the opportunities it presented to cause trouble. And Madalena’s parties were always the stuff of legend.

Say what you will about the bossy brunette, but she knew how to entertain.

“How many people are you thinking? 20? 50? Are you renting out another location?” Pollution was speaking excitedly while Famine just sighed, and Madalena laughed at her friends, sitting herself down in War’s lap while the redhead pretended that move didn’t still fluster her just a little. 

“Fun as that would be, I actually meant just the 6 of us. For old times sake.” She said, draping an arm over War’s shoulder as War placed her own hand on Madalena’s waist, keeping her steady. “We’re all going off to college in a few months, and even Pesty and Death are gonna be around for spring break this year. What’s wrong with one last reunion among friends?”

War had to admit it sounded like a good idea, and even Famine was nodding, clearly coming around to it. Still, War had some suspicions that ‘just getting together’ wasn’t the main motive for Madalena to throw this party. She knew her best friend and lover well enough to know that if she suggested something innocent, said thing hardly ever was.

Pollution seemed to be aware of this too, their grin still ever-present, and War wondered what kind of trouble the lot of them were about to be in. Not that she had any opportunity to ask, as Madalena got up again, clapping her hands together with a smile.

“Great, it’s settled then. I’ll text you all with the details.” 

And with that, the brunette walked off again, War craning her head just a little to watch her go. This earned her a smack on the head with Famine’s calculus textbook.

“War, unless you’re done reading your part of the assignment, stop staring at Madalena’s ass and get back to work.”

********

The get together appeared to be every bit as simple as Madalena had promised.  Or at least; it was simple by Madalena’s standards. It was still held at her house, which resembled a mansion more than anything else, and she had broken out the fancy liquor for the occasion. The four high school seniors had all done their part in setting up, which had translated to Famine and Pollution doing most of the work while Madalena dragged War to her bedroom to “help her pick out an outfit”.

(“They’re totally having sex again, aren’t they?” Famine complained to Pollution, who just laughed as they set out some extra glasses. “It does _ not _ take 2 hours to pick out a dress.”)

Death and Pestilence showed up just before 6, bringing with them a stack of pizzas with Pollution immediately lunged for and carried to the couch. Within minutes, all 6 former friends were gathered in the living room, splayed on a variety of couches, pillows, and comfortable chairs. Madalena was sitting on War’s lap again, which was something none of the others decided to comment on; though there were plenty of Looks being shot in War’s general direction. The redhead’s crush on Madalena was truly the worst kept secret amongst their friend group, and the only one who seemed unaware of this was Madalena herself.

The group was drinking, laughing, and telling stories, and all in all it seemed just like old times. Death and Pestilence regaled them with horror tales from college, and Famine and Madalena filled them in on the more juicy details of high school politics, with Pollution occasionally chipping in with tales of their latest plots.

Eventually, once most the pizza had been finished off, the group moved on to some drinking games, ‘Truth or Dare’ being a common choice amongst the group. It started off innocent enough at first, the usual traps being set to make their friends spill crazy stories the others hadn’t heard yet, and War was laughing and having a blast. The alcohol in her system had made her a lot more relaxed, not even the greasy pizza being a match for how Madalena kept refilling her cup. Had she paid slightly more attention, she would have noticed how Madalena herself was being a lot more modest in her alcohol intake. But she was pleasantly buzzed and busy trying not to get too distracted by how close Madalena was to her, so she saw the warning signs way too late.

“Truth or dare… Red.” Madalena grinned at her best friend, still sitting on her lap as she turned to face her. War mock-groaned at being chosen, but her smile betrayed her. There was nothing she enjoyed quite as much as seeing Madalena smile at her; even if said smile was mischievous and a sign of plotting.

“Dare.” She grinned, and the corners of Madalena’s mouth quirked upwards.

“I dare you to tell me who you’re in love with.”

The entire room fell silent at that. War froze, looking more like a deer in the headlights, and Famine dropped the handful of popcorn he had been about to throw at Pollution. Death gave War a concerned look, and it took the redhead a minute to compose herself again, swallowing thickly before she answered.

“Pass. Truth.”

“Fine. Who are you in love with?”

Of course Madalena wouldn’t have given up so easily. War’s heart was racing in her chest, and she actually pushed Madalena off of her. The brunette didn’t seem deterred by that, giving War a look daring her to just step up to the challenge set to her and spill the beans. But War wasn’t having it.

“I hate this fucking game.” She grumbled, some of her drink spilling from her glass as she made her way to the kitchen for a stronger refill.

“Madalena-” Death moved to get up, one hand reaching out to stop the brunette form following her, but Madalena waved him away, getting up from the floor and following War into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her. The four horsepeople who were left remained silent, giving each other questioning looks before Famine was the first one to speak up.

“I’ll bet you $20 they’re about to start dating.”

********

War was filling her glass with whiskey, foregoing the usual mixer as she emptied the rest of the bottle from the counter. She heard the door shut behind her, and didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was who followed her.

Madalena had never been able to let something go.

She turned around to leave, but the brunette was blocking her way, cornering War against the kitchen counter.

“You still haven’t told me who you’re in love with.”

War groaned, trying to move past Madalena, but with the brunette being nearly a foot taller than her this was proving to be impossible.

“Why are you so obsessed with this?”

“Because you’re so insistent on keeping it a secret.”

“Am I not allowed to have my secrets?” War countered, taking a swig from her whiskey. Madalena seemed less than impressed by that argument, and War knew she wasn’t going to let this go.

“Fine.” She sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend. “It’s Natasha Lyonne. Now will you  _ move _ ?”

She tried again to move past Madalena, but the brunette stopped her, taking her glass and placing it on the counter.

“I think you’re lying to me.” She said, and War was suddenly all too aware how close her best friend was to her. She’d committed the scent of Madalena’s perfume to memory by now, but it still took her by surprise whenever she could smell it so clearly. Madalena was close enough that she could count the freckles on War’s face, and War tried to take another step back, only to find herself blocked by the kitchen counter.

“Maddie, can we not do this?” She looked up into green eyes, her own blue ones almost pleading Madalena to drop it, to let it go. To not let War have to admit how in love she was with someone she could never have.

Instead, Madalena placed her finger under War’s chin, tilting the redhead’s head up just a little, forcing War to meet her gaze. And oh god, she was doing that pouting thing that always made her get her way. War could feel her defenses falling, and both her hands gripped the countertop, knuckles turning white as Madalena kept her gaze fixed on hers.

“So, you’re  _ not _ in love with me?”

War could only stay silent, her eyes telling Madalena everything she needed to know, and War saw her friend beginning to smirk at her. Undoubtedly, this was fueling her ego beyond belief, but War couldn’t deal with being yet another ego boost. 

Not right now.

“Yeah, I thought so.” Madalena smirked, but War didn’t return the smile, her eyes pleading yet again.

“Maddie… Please stop.” She whispered, but Madalena seemed to have no interest in listening to War. She was still studying her, like she was planning to unravel every last detail of War’s feelings for her.

“How long?” She asked, and War sighed.

“Too long.”

“It hasn’t gone away?” She sounded curious, and War shook her head meekly.

“No… Not for lack of trying.”

“Interesting.” Madalena hummed, and War decided she’d had enough of being played with.

“Yes. Super interesting.” She deadpanned, making another move to get away from Madalena. “Now please, move? Just let it go, forget about it.”

But Madalena stopped her again, placing both her hands on the counter, effectively locking War in.

“What if I don’t want to forget about it?”

War just groaned in annoyance, closing her eyes as she tried to deal with the situation around her.

“Maddie, please. You’re my best friend and I love you, but if this is about your  _ ego _ then-”

But War never got to finish her sentence, being cut off by soft lips against hers. It took her brain all but one second to catch on that Madalena was kissing her, and then another few to realize that actually, Madalena had never kissed her quite like this before.

Sure, they had made out plenty of times. There had been soft pecks on the lips, and there had been rough, hungry, almost desperate kisses as they tried to get rid of various items of clothing. But this was different. Madalena was kissing her with intent, one hand resting against War’s cheek, and War found herself melting against her.

They stood there for a few minutes, exchanging soft kisses as Madalena held War as if she were something precious, kissing her in a way a lover might. War wondered if maybe she was reading too much into this, but then Madalena’s arm snaked around her waist, and War still had her fingers buried in Madalena’s soft brown hair, and such thoughts flew from her mind. At least until…

“If you two are done being gay in there then move, you’re blocking the bar!”

Famine’s voice from the now-open doorway broke the moment between them, and the two girls broke apart, War a little breathless as she tried to process what just happened. Madalena’s hand was still resting on her waist, and if War had had the sense to look up she could have seen Madalena smiling at her.

But she wasn’t focused on that right now. Instead, she was ready to curse Famine for ruining the moment. But before she could speak, Madalena spoke up, pulling War closer to her as she fixed Famine with a death-stare.

“This is my house, and if I want to make out with my girlfriend in front of the bar, then I damn well will make out with my girlfriend in front of the bar.”

Famine raised his hands in mock surrender, stepping back and leaving War and Madalena be for the moment. He hadn’t missed how War seemed pleasantly shocked by the ‘girlfriend’ statement, and hoped for both his friends’ sakes that they had finally worked out their issues.

(Also, it would have earned him $20 if that were the case).

War glared at Famine as she watched him go, a welcome distraction from the sensation of Madalena’s hand on her waist, and the way her lips were still tingling from the kiss they’d shared. But Famine soon vanished from sight, as he actually had the decency to close the door behind him, and she was left alone with Madalena all over again.

Madalena, who had just called War her  _ girlfriend _ .

She cleared her throat a little, trying to think of something to say when Madalena kissed her again; briefly, this time. “He’s right, we should head back.” She smiled, taking War’s hand in her own, and grabbing War’s glass with her free hand. “You coming?”

“Y- yeah…” War stammered out, giving Madalena one last confused look. Were they really just not going to talk about this?

Madalena stole another quick kiss from her lips, handing War her glass as she giggled. “You’re adorable.” She said, before pulling War back into the living room, the redhead more confused than ever before.

********

The rest of the party went off without much of a hitch. The group went back to their games as if nothing had happened, even though everyone shot the occasional worried glance towards War. They were aware that Madalena had declared War her girlfriend, but most of them knew by now how deep War’s feelings ran. Had they really worked things out?

War had told her friends in no uncertain terms to stop staring at her as soon as Madalena had left the room, but of course that hadn’t fully stopped them. Madalena, for her part, seemed oblivious to it all.

Or maybe she just hadn’t deemed it worthy of her attention. With the brunette, it could be either.

As the night drew to a close, Madalena had invited them all to stay over. This meant Famine and Pollution were regaled to the living room couches, Pestilence and Death were sharing a bed in the guest room, and War, of course, had ended up in Madalena’s bed.

Normally, she’d have felt pretty pleased about such a situation, holding her sleeping now-girlfriend (apparently) in her arms. She treasured the times Madalena would spend with her, and enjoyed how adorable and peaceful Madalena looked while she slept. Instead, she didn’t sleep a wink all night, her mind still racing and dissecting what had happened in the kitchen the night before.

They still hadn’t spoken about their situation. Sure, Madalena had touched her more, and had stolen the occasional kiss from her lips during the rest of the night, but War still wondered what it all meant. Was it just convenience? Was she just going to be another in a long list of flings Madalena would have to her name?

She was stroking Madalena’s arm absentmindedly, pondering the implications of their situation when a familiar voice broke her revery.

“I can’t sleep when you’re thinking so loud.”

War looked down to find Madalena turning in her arms, one hand reaching up to move some stray hairs from War’s face. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” War shook her head, but even in the dark she could feel the skeptical stare Madalena was giving her. “Did you call me your girlfriend yesterday?”

“Yeah.” Madalena replied, as if that had been obvious. “Why?”

War frowned a little. “It’s just… You’re not really the… ‘Romantic’ type. I just…”

“You’re wondering if I’m going to cheat on you like I did with all my exes.”

To her credit, Madalena didn’t even seem offended by the implication. She was stating it as if she were stating something benign like the weather, or which type of dresses were most suited for any specific occasion.

War nodded in response, looking just a little insecure as Madalena sighed, moving in to press a soft kiss to War’s lips.

“Listen… I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not in love with you. At least, I don’t  _ think _ that I am. Feelings are annoying, and relationships are terrible. Frankly, I don’t want to be  _ in _ one. I mean, being that devoted to a single person? Having to give up your own wishes just to make someone else feel good? I hate that.”

War snorted softly, amused at Madalena’s disgust for romance despite the fact that  _ she _ still wanted to be in a relationship with her. “Not really making a good case for yourself here, Maddie.”

Madalena rolled her eyes, cuddling closer into War’s embrace.

“What I’m trying to say is… I don’t like relationships. But I like you. I like how you see me. I like that I can trust you, that you never looked at me weird, that you don’t make any illusions as to who I am. And I don’t want to share you with someone.” Madalena reached up, gently tracing some of the freckles on War’s face. “Out of everyone in the world, I don’t think I’ll ever like anyone as much as I like you. I hate other people, but I never hate you.”

“I still don’t really know what that means.” War confessed, and Madalena just smiled at her.

“Mainly, it means that ‘girlfriend’ just sounds more convenient than ‘person I like more than anyone who I wanna exclusively sleep with’.” She replied, and War snorted lightly at how that was just  _ such _ a Madalena thing to say.

“Well, I’m flattered… But that still doesn’t really answer my question. Kind of.”

Madalena sighed, leaning up a little to press a kiss to War’s nose.

“Look. I may not have feelings like you do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. Actually, I kind of care a lot. More than I thought I would. Your happiness… It matters to me.” She replied, gently caressing War’s face as she spoke. “I can’t promise I won’t hurt you. But I  _ can _ promise I won’t do it on purpose. And besides…” She grinned. “Why would I downgrade to anyone else when I can have you?”

“So what you’re saying is… You love me as much as someone like you could love anyone.” War spoke teasingly, and Madalena actually grinned in response.

“Yeah. Pretty much.” She said, and War beamed at her, leaning in to kiss her now-girlfriend. They stayed like that for a while, their make-out session becoming increasingly more intense before War eventually pulled away, a little breathless.

“I know you said you wouldn’t hurt me on purpose, but… Does that also count if I  _ ask _ ?”

The redhead wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and Madalena grinned at her, capturing her lips in another searing kiss. “Kinky. You know Death and Pesty are in the next room, right?”

“When has that ever bothered you.” War grinned, and Madalena squealed in delight, their conversation now over.

Downstairs, Famine put another pillow over his head, deciding that this had not been worth the $20 he’d won.


End file.
